About Me

My name is Kiri Kankhwende and I’m a journalist and political analyst with an educational background in human rights, political communications, Mandarin and French language studies. I also work in media relations in the charity sector.

I’m a migrant and wear the label with pride – I did a Tedx Talk about it. I was born in Malawi and have lived in Zimbabwe, France and China. My writing revolves around the issues that are close to my heart: human rights, politics, race and migration.

I’m on the board of Index on Censorship, which campaigns for the right to freedom of speech; and Aspire4u, a social enterprise helping disadvantaged young people to find their professional edge.

My writing has been published by the Guardian, Independent, Index on Censorship Magazine, Open Democracy and Media Diversified, among others. I’ve contributed political analysis on BBC Newsnight, BBC 5 Live Breakfast show, The Briefing Room on BBC Radio 4, Al Jazeera’s The Stream, Russia Today, BBC London and other BBC English Regions radio stations.

I have been a panellist in events at various universities, including the Cambridge Festival of Ideas. I was privileged to write the afterword for Go Home: The politics of immigration controversies (2017, Manchester University Press), a book written by the brilliant academics behind the Mapping Immigration Controversy research project.

I love theatre and have seen as many as 70 plays in one year. I also love tomatoes (madomasi in Shona) @madomasi is my handle on twitter and instagram. My email is kiri@mediadiversified.org .